The need for women’s unity in today’s context

Even in the 21st century, there is no equality between men and women. From the Speaker to the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, the major positions of the major parties are dominated by men. The centuries-old women’s rights movement continues even today. Rights mean equality, freedom, opportunity, access, identity and equal share in the exercise of identity and status.

Women’s empowerment is the guarantee of women’s rights. For women’s empowerment, women must be united on any issue. In some cases, the issue of women’s rights has been obscured due to lack of unity among women.

Whether it is the question of citizenship in the recent past or the issue of women’s participation in the Council of Ministers or within the party structure in the past, the strong participation of women seems to be low.

Bad practices still prevail in today’s society. Due to the patriarchal mentality of viewing and understanding women as sex slaves, girls, adolescents, even older women are being subjected to incidents of sexual abuse and violence by close relatives and acquaintances.          The incidents of rape against women have been increasing in recent days. Execution and imprisonment of rapists have also become a topic of debate. Incidents of burning his wife alive on the pretext of motorcycle and buffalo dowry are not uncommon in Banke. It is necessary for women to unite on these and similar issues and put pressure on them to make policies, rules and laws.

It is important for women to have the same voice on the issue of citizenship in the name of mother. If we look at the situation of women who occupy more than half of the total population of our country, we find that this world is entangled in a very backward social norm and is bound by customs. Due to falling behind all sectors, the participation of women in the development of Nepal is found to be negligible. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs has recently been formed with the objective of providing equal opportunities for men to solve this problem.

In addition, economic empowerment is another basis for women to be free from violence. When she is not allowed to go out of the house, she is forced to confine herself to the stove, she takes care of farming and livestock, on top of that, she is equally busy with unpaid service work like taking care of senior citizens and child care. Such work is neither evaluated nor looked at financially.

For the upliftment of women, keeping in view the population of women living in rural areas, it is necessary to make them aware and make them participate in the development work. For this, there are publicity campaigns, competitions, seminars, essays, radio and TV related to the Women’s Awakening Campaign as well as emphasis on women’s education from primary level, giving equal education to sons and daughters, increasing the current marriage age, etc.

The right of women leaders to go to the villages to spread political consciousness, expand the membership of women, hold meetings and interact with women should be ensured on the basis of membership number. The parties should make it easier for women to reach the Central Committee by becoming members of villages, wards, cities, regions, districts and zones.

For the development of women, women themselves need to be studious, diligent, tolerant, struggling and hardworking. Therefore, there is no alternative for the parties to include women from the ward to the center for women’s empowerment and also for unity among women.